Secret alliances

0.14

Meera's pov:

When my family came to pick us up, the ride to the hospital felt like eternity. Rowan and Wes had a house key so they locked up and left after we left.

Arriving at the hospital, half of us run through the emergency room entrance because the main entrance is closed, we let in the other half and grab a wheelchair for my grandma.

The elevator took forever to get up to the third floor. We practically sprinted down into the ICU, all of us out of breath when the nurse halted us and told us we were to wait in the waiting room while my dad sorted a few things out. After a minute, dad and both my aunts wheeled my grandmother in and entered grandpa's room, the rest of us watching from afar.

Twenty minutes of torturous waiting later, I am finally allowed to go in. "Dada?" I say. "Can you hear me?"

"Daddy, Meera chē." My mom says louder, hoping to invoke a reaction. His arm twitches and his eyes flap.

"Dada?" I say louder, emitting a rumble from him. A sigh of relief hits me like a truck. Hope.

We all spend a few more minutes just basking in his presence before the head nurse whispered sometime to my dad.

Everyone moved back to the semi-full waiting area outside the ICU. Seeing no empty seats, I propped up on the desk in the back. Both my aunts, uncle, Ronald- he's been in our lives since before I was born, practically family now-, my grandpa's sister and her husband, my dad's cousins and a few family friends were there. "Aavi gayā." My mom mumbled as her brother and parents also waltzed in.

"Guys this is Sarah," Dad cleared his throat, we all nodded at her.

"Hi y'all, I'm Sarah and I'm the head nurse here." She looked around, soaking in all of our faces. "As we know, Mr. Raja just had a cardiac arrest, his heart was shut down for three minutes before reviving."

My younger aunt was translating most of it to the elders present in the waiting room, so Sarah took several pauses.

"There isn't an easy way to say this but... I think it's time you guys look into comfort care."

No. No please it's too soon.

"How many days are we looking at?"

"I'd say around less than a week or so."

My mind went blank. Seven days was too much now. I felt a new wave of a nervous breakdown coming on me. I spaced out when Sarah was explaining further.

Sarah explained, then re-explained, then re-re-explained. "I don't think you guys would want him to suffer in his last moments and the Bi-pap is forceful on his already weakened lungs."

"I can come back later if you need me to?" Sarah says, backing out of the waiting area while everyone started talking and freaking out.

"Meera?" My uncle called. I looked up and have a tight-lipped smile. He gave me a side hug and moved back.

Both my aunts and dad looked to my grandfather's sister. "It's up to you," my dad started in Gujarati. "We don't want to do anything without your permission or input. You're the eldest and his sister."

"I don't want him in any pain, don't put this decision on me. You are his children." She counteracted.

"We can definitely try to stretch it a little, she did say we have a few days."

"He doesn't have weeks, this went from a few months to days." My aunt emphasized. "Whatever he wants us to do, and whatever he wants needs to be done in the next two days just incase."